I would like to hear what any non-American members of the forum have to say about Americans. What I mean is, what is your outlook on our culture (specific aspects if you want), our politics, our pop culture, individual Americans you've met, etc.

Also, please include any stereotypes you had about Americans and whether debating with them has reinforced or destroyed those stereotypes.
Also, what has surprised you the most when debating with Americans?

Thanks

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"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
Isaac Asimov

Hmmm... well, on your culture, i'd have to say it is so consumer culture and generally shows the excesses of capitalism.

Politics are too imperialist (at the moment and since about the end of WWII tell the end of the cold war), you meddle to much in the internal affairs of other nations.

I originally had two stereotypes of americans: slack-jawed southern, right wing, gun nut yokels or loud, abrasive, stupid gun nuts. I knew of course that not all americans were like this.

After debating with americans, some fit parts of my original stereotypes but i also found that there were those who were calm, considerate, cynical and intelligent enough to not believe everything that they were told.

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Living in Canada a lot of our culture is similar or identical to yours. It is hard to make broad generalizations about Americans due to our closeness with them. While there are more than enough stereotypes in the media about Americans many of them are hard to believe because of personal experience. Living in a city that is less than a two hour drive from the American border you have a lot of exposure with the American culture (on a personal basis).

While Canada and America have many differences government wise, culture wise, and sometimes even humour wise, we have many things in common. Being next door neighbors your culture rubs off on us quite often. However, that being said it can seem that these differences have made Canadians more proud to be Canadian. Much of the Canadian culture is defended with fierce pride - sometimes to the point where any difference from America is a good thing (and yes, this may be seen as a fear of being overshadowed). However, politically wise much of Canada remains different. Some obvious examples of these differences would include national healthcare vs. privatization, the Canadian immigration policy of a "cultural mosaic" vs. the American "melting pot", or Canada's foreign policy of peacekeeping vs. America's foreign policy.

Quite often the two nations can't be compared. For example, our crime rate cannot be compared because we are one tenth the size of America population wise. This, of course, does not stop the comparisons.

Growing up in Canada many of our differences from Americans are highlighted while many of our similarities are seen on a day-to-day basis (or rather while visiting the other country). For the most part Canadians and Americans have gotten along well.

That all being said, there are some parts of America that I personally do not agree with, mainly, as someone has already mentioned, America's imperialism.
Many of the other differences, do make me proud to be Canadian, but they do not lessen my opinions of the American population. (The biggest change I would like to see in America would be some in their perspective of other countries.) Many of the problems in America are highlighted because, yes, America is the world's leading power and is criticized thusly. It would be nice to see some foreign policies change with the upcoming election (and no I'm not just talking about the war in the middle east) but I also hope that a lot of the political attention will be focused more at home, improving the standard of living.

It is hard to judge a culture you share so much with but it is not hard to form wrong opinions due to America's media spotlight. The best thing is to maintain an open-mind and to not assume too quickly.

Thanks for the responses so far, guys.

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"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
Isaac Asimov

When I started discussing politics with Americans, I was surprised by the amount of people who did fit the stereotypes: stupid, ignorant of anything outside America, racist, homophobic, bringing religion into politics all the time, generally ridiculously gung ho, etc.
There aren't that many Americans I've talked to who do actually fit this stereotype. It's just that I thought that surely no-one could fit the stereotype at all, yet there are a few who do. That's what surprised me.

Your culture is, for the most part, very shallow. So's ours of course, which really isn't that much different than yours. I just think yours is slightly worse.

Americans I've met in person are mostly nice, but very loud. I think Americans are much more out-going, and willing to express themselves, than we are.

Your politics is interesting. Firstly, you talk about things that we never talk about, a lot, you have a completely different set of important issues. Guns, abortion, prayer in schools, these are contraversial issues in American politics, no one talks about them much here. On the other hand, you don't seem to discuss things like education and health as much as we do. The other interesting thing is that at first glance your politics seems to be ridiculously polarised, but actually isn't. Democrats seem much more willing to work with Republicans, and vica versa, than our political parties do with each other.

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... I am surprised at your insolence in writing to me at all. You know, as I know, that I bought this constituency... may God's curse light upon you and may it make your women as open and as free to the excise officers as your wives and daughters have always been to me while I have represented your scoundrel corporation.
I have the honour to be... your obliged humble servant, Anthony Henley
- MPs reply to constituent, mid 1700s

I see distorted american culture which is far from reality - here in Russia every day and detest it. Its a stereotype of booby cheer-leader wearing silly smile on broad cheeky face and ghastly short legs. And she talks in a drawl making all first syllables audible, rest mash. I'm close to shuting her up. Somehow the stereotype is all female as male one is very positive and above that - Nicholas Cage, that is. Both however are of B-rated video movies, and few people realize how far it is from true America. I find your people matter of factly and reserved, but indifferent and shut, not gregarious. However you propagate wrong filmy image of your character a lot, and my personal tragedy came in Emmanuel movie as I acted out the fantasy at my own marriage's stake. This wraught supposedly american mannerism dictates falsy lifestyle too much over here - unsuspecting as you may be. Current worthy pop/rock/jazz however comes from NY and LA, while gem soul from Memphis - not Europe. Ah, you spread virus - hip hop, and I was forgeting it is another unbearable stigma of luifestyle which dominates here as kinda official status filter. So Cage's out. Russian society/history figures of second-order for kids, who assimilate supposedly US tongue and brag negligence of things native. They compete in the disgusting way of those assimilations - say, pronouncing Bassinger as bey-sing-er and transliterating "nothing personal" virtually ruining both languages in the way. Americans watch this circus and don't recognize their culture mirrored. Also America is socially hated over here for exerting that power behaviorist model. Hated... and immitated. On politics: too self-conscious, smacks of huge inferiority complex taking on ugly forms of military interventions and the accursed ridiculous never-existent Russian threat. Same complex roots inside your nation as secondary to gentlemanly oxfordish Britain whose brilliant pronounciation and elegance America never approached to mastering. That was too evident the way you smeared Mr Bean in US filmed movie.

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Hi-Fi/music Guru by Supreme Consciousness

Solzhenytsin and Dostoyevski

no, just Conan o'Brien

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Hi-Fi/music Guru by Supreme Consciousness

I had a Canadian over at my house this past weekend to watch football. I told him up front that if I asked too many questions to let me know so I would leave him alone. He didn't mind at all and pretty much answered all of my questions.

I asked him about health care and he said that Canada's was better. But he later admitted that we had better doctors and service, but theirs was still better because it was free.

The funniest part of the conversation was when he sort of bashed the second amendment. He said that he simply didn't see a reason why we needed guns. I told him that this was not the point. I don't "need" my guns. I just like to have them. I then let him hold my pistol and my AR-15 M4 and his response was, "holy shit this is cool, can we shoot it sometime?"

He said that overall he liked America and Americans. He admitted that there was some culture shock when he first moved down here, but that he liked it. He also said that Bush was an idiot.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

As a kid growing up in the early 80s, America and Americans stood for everything that's good, protecting the world, etc, etc..

then I grew up and saw that they too have their faults, and are pretty similar to us. I regard the americans as our friends, and of course, friends can disagree over some issues and sometimes get annoyed at each other, but we'll still remain friends

Whenever I travel to the US I'm amazed by the openness and friendliness with which they greeted me. The culture itself isn't that different, since our cultures are so closely related. In general yours seemed to be a bit more consumer related